Travel Tip: Art and Archaeology in EnglandThomas Houseago: Where the Wild Things Are

Thomas Houseago is one of a growing number of artists to reclaim figurative art. He creates monumental work that is highly charged, raw and visceral, with a sense of the strange and unworldly. The sculptures assume sometimes primal forms and poses, appearing confrontational or even aggressive, but more often expressing fragility or awkwardness. Houseago’s work takes cues from the tradition of Modernism, but also references non-Western art, and popular culture including music, cartoons and science fiction, creating a sculptural language that is entirely his own. Working in traditional, low-grade materials such as plaster, hemp, graphite and iron rebar before casting in bronze, these works emphasise the performative act of sculpture.

Born in 1972 in Leeds, Thomas Houseago studied at Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design in London and De Ateliers in Amsterdam. He lived and worked for several years in Brussels before moving to Los Angeles.